Search results for " Cognition"

P 96. Prismatic lenses as a novel tool to directionally manipulate motor cortex excitability: Evidence from paired-pulse TMS

2013

Introduction Prismatic adaptation (PA) is a visuo-motor procedure requiring participants to adapt to prismatic lenses shifting the visual scene horizontally. Such an adaptation produces a phenomenon called “after-effect”, opposite to the side of lenses deviation. The after-effect has been frequently associated with a shift of spatial attention in the same direction and with a restoration of hemispatial neglect symptoms. PA has captured the interest of neuroscientists in the last decades, since it affects high-order spatial cognition even thought consisting of low-level visuo-motor processes. Objectives Despite a huge literature on this procedure, the basic neural processes related to PA and…

Motor imagery and cortico-spinal excitability: A review

2016

International audience; Motor imagery (MI) has received a lot of interest during the last decades as its chronic or acute use has demonstrated several effects on improving sport performances or skills. The development of neuroimagery techniques also helped further our understanding of the neural correlates underlying MI. While some authors showed that MI, motor execution and action observation activated similar motor cortical regions, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies brought great insights on the role of the primary motor cortex and on the activation of the cortico-spinal pathway during MI. After defining MI and describing the TMS technique, a short report of MI activities on…

Software/Hardware Issues in Modelling Insect Brain Architecture

2011

The concept of cognitive abilities is commonly associated to humans and animals like mammals, birds and others. Nevertheless, in the last years several research groups have intensified the studies on insects that posses a much simpler brain structure even if they are able to show interesting memory and learning capabilities. In this paper a survey on some key results obtained in a joint research activity among Engineers and Neurogeneticians is reported. They were focussed toward the design and implementation of a model of the insect brain inspired by the Drosophila melanogaster. Particular attention was paid to the main neural centers the Mushroom Bodies and the Central Complex. Moreover a …

¿Por qué realizar un examen mejora nuestro aprendizaje? Lecciones científicas y educativas del efecto del test

2011

Los exámenes se consideran como una mera evaluación del conocimiento del estudiante, y hasta el momento no se habían planteado seriamente como estrategia de aprendizaje. No en vano, los modelos tradicionales de la memoria humana consideran que los procesos de codificación son los máximos responsables del registro de información en memoria. Los procesos de recuperación, que se activan durante la realización de un examen, no deberían afectar a la información recuperada. Investigaciones recientes contradicen esta visión, y aportan nueva evidencia de cómo funciona nuestra memoria: realizar un examen sobre algo aprendido mejora nuestro aprendizaje de ese tema.

Impairment in Theory of Mind in Parkinson's Disease Is Explained by Deficits in Inhibition

2019

Objective: Several studies have reported that people with Parkinson's disease (PD) perform poorly on tests of Theory of Mind' (ToM), suggesting impairment in the ability to understand and infer other people's thoughts and feelings. However, few studies have sought to separate the processes involved in social reasoning from those involved in managing the inhibitory demands on these tests. In this study, we investigated the contribution of inhibition to ToM performance in PD. Methods. 18 PD patients and 22 age-matched healthy controls performed a ToM test that separates the ability to infer someone else's perspective from the ability to inhibit one's own. Participants also completed a battery…

Is addressable memory required for spatial cognition?: Poster

2021

This paper investigates the computational basis of the temporal and spatial cognition that underlies certain animal behaviours. For example, ants, when they find food, are able to encode the compass direction which takes them back to their nest. In their (2009) book, Memory and the Computational Brain (MCB), Gallistel and King articulate a classicist view: animals must do this using a symbolic, addressable, read-write memory. Here we challenge this view, arguing that complex behaviour can be explained by computational mechanisms which do not need to look like addressable random-access memory.

Is addressable memory required for spatial cognition?: Oral presentation

2021

Improving Hand Hygiene Behavior Using a Novel Theory-Based Intervention During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2022

Abstract Background Promoting the adoption of personal hygiene behaviors known to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, such as avoiding touching one’s face with unwashed hands, is important for limiting the spread of infections. Purpose We aimed to test the efficacy of a theory-based intervention to promote the avoidance of touching one’s face with unwashed hands to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Methods We tested effects of an intervention employing imagery, persuasive communication, and planning techniques in two pre-registered studies adopting randomized controlled designs in samples of Australian (N = 254; Study 1) and US (N = 245; Study 2) residents. Participants were randomly assigned…

El libro no ha muerto: Desventaja meta-cognitiva de la lectura en pantalla

2018

A pesar de la rápida expansión de los dispositivos digitales como medio de lectura, el formato impreso sigue siendo el preferido por la mayoría de los lectores. Más aún, investigaciones recientes revelan cierta desventaja del medio digital cuando se trata de comprender textos. En el presente artículo se revisan una serie de trabajos realizados por la investigadora Rakefet Ackerman y sus colaboradores, cuyos resultados sugieren que esta inferioridad de la lectura en pantalla es consecuencia de déficits en la regulación meta-cognitiva cuando nos enfrentamos mediante el medio digital a tareas que exigen decisiones acerca de la asignación de esfuerzos cognitivos.

Psychobiological effects of perinatal exposure to odorants in mice. Part I: Morphological changes in the olfactory epithelium

2010

International audience